It’s never easy for a No. 1 seed – which is what Oklahoma City is in the Western Conference – to attack the play-offs against a team that is still just on the delicious feeling of a play-off. in victorious. Milwaukee, for example, noticed this to its cost last year by losing at home against the Miami Heat (117-130), who launched an unexpected run there which took them to the final .
This is what almost happened to the Thunder, facing New Orleans two days after the Pelicans qualified by winning against Sacramento (105-98) despite the absence of Zion Williamson, injured in the left hamstring. The “panzer” was not restored on Sunday, but it was CJ McCollum who almost gave NoLA the victory, his last three-point shot at the buzzer, at -2 in the score (94-92), rebounding on the back of the circle.
Just before that, or rather thirty seconds earlier, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the three candidates for the regular season MVP trophy with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, had made the decisive 2+1 (basket plus foul) against to the same McCollum. A typical basket from the Canadian with a mid-range shot after attacking the full circle by dribbling, at the conclusion of a mastered personal performance (28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists).
These two actions closed a suspenseful match with a maximum difference of ten points in favor of OKC (82-72, 37th). A defensive match in which Frenchman Ousmane Dieng, recent MVP of the G-League final, did not participate. The two teams only scored 34 points in total during the first quarter (17-17), a sign of the Thunder’s stress for its return to the play-offs after four years of absence, and the “Pels”, who will not recover Zion Williamson, at best, before a possible game 5, ended up shooting less than 40% success (38.5%).
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Matches 1 of the play-offs were marked by an 8/8 for the home teams.
